


The Boss' Best Friend

by FriendlyFire



Category: Borderlands, Borderlands the pre-sequel, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom, borderlands 2 - Fandom
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Im gonna contain myself, Im selfish I guess, Its slow burn dammit, So much sweet sweet fluff, Why Did I Write This?, fuck it, no one asked for this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-03 14:01:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8716660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FriendlyFire/pseuds/FriendlyFire
Summary: Jack raised his hand, “Just Jack is fine. It’ll be our little secret…”
Newly promoted to lead engineer of the Constructor program, Maeve works on the great space station of Helios. In a random encounter with THE Handsome Friggin' Jack, she finds out he's more human than what all of the propaganda and rumors would have her believe.





	1. Chapter 1

            Hyperion was huge. It seems so small from the surface of Pandora. Yet, as I walk among the many halls and cavernous rooms, I come to the realization that it is gargantuan. Everything was in a bright and clean shining white, accented by a honey gold that could only be known as Hyperion yellow, with little bits of matte gray peppered here and there. Blueish-green lights of the many different electronical parts of the space station glow faintly. There were several hallways with long bay windows that allowed one to gaze out into the inky blackness of empty space. Many people believe that you could see millions of stars in space, but they were sadly misinformed. In space, it is nothing but a vacuum. A void. When you don’t have an atmosphere between you and it, you cannot see anything but what is within a relatively nearby distance to wherever you are. Meaning, Pandora and Elpis were all you could see currently. It was unnerving, to be quite honest, and it made you shudder at the thought of being jetted out into the unimaginably cold and airless vacuum of it. Which, apparently, is what the president of Hyperion did often. To anyone who annoyed him, or even poor unfortunate souls who were in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was in a foul mood and lashed out at the nearest body. However, I couldn’t help but respect the man anyway. I wasn’t some hopeless fangirl like some of these obsessed creeps were. Some of the men and women I worked with would literally eat Handsome Jack’s snot rag if he asked them to. (They’d probably do it even if he hadn’t told them to, to tell the truth…) I’m pretty sure this one guy, what was his name again? Ryan? No. Ross? Nah, never mind. I can’t remember. Anyway, I’m pretty sure that dude has a shrine in his office closet, glorifying Handsome Jack. All these fucking posters and shit all over the walls, right? Pathetic, ya know?

Anyway, back to me. Today marks the first whole month I’ve been working in my new promotion. I was an engineer on Pandora. I was the one that mended the repair surveyors. Ironic, right? I fixed the fixers. I had somehow impressed someone up on the higher end of the food chain of this place, and I was lead on the manufacturing and upkeep of the Constructors. To be honest, I was thrilled to bits at the news. My previous boss, who was always putting a good word in for me to the higher ups, was so proud. No one from our division had ever made it up to the home base before. It was a huge honor, and I accepted without any hesitation. I mean, I got off Pandora, so that was a huge part of why. It was such a filthy planet. Sure, it and a handful of its inhabitants were charming, in some morbid Pandoran way, but I jumped at the chance to get out. From the second I left my home on Eden-5, I had regretted it. I sought adventure. How naïve.  The minute I set foot on that shithole someone tried to kill me. A psycho, as they call them, wanted to use my eyes to finish his eye ball friendship bracelet. It was no wonder why Jack wanted to nuke the place and start over fresh. Opportunity had come a long way, too. Almost finished. I mean, it was shitty that some innocents were getting caught up in all of this. Did that make me feel guilty? Sure, it haunted my dreams every night. But, I made my path, so I’m gonna walk it.

            I turn my attention back to my surroundings. I was just entering another colossal room that served as a kind of shopping district. There were shops and restaurants. Hyperion had it all, my friend. No more gross freeze dried shit in a bag for this girl, no sir. This area consisted of three floors in total. The bottom, where I was, had all the stores. There were different boutiques for clothing, each one specializing in different wears. Evening wear, sportswear, office suits, every day clothing, etc. There were a few salons. Of course, there were multiple electronics stores, as well. Purchasing the latest and greatest model of whatever, repairing them, what have you. The second floor looked like restaurants. I could smell multiple heavenly aromas wafting to my nose. There were various places, that offered all sorts of food from all over the universe. Lastly, the top floor was nothing but a huge bar/club. Everyone had a place to go get smashed. I’d never really been with that scene much, however. Sure, I went out and drank and partied with friends, but not every weekend like some people did on Hyperion.

            I came to this part of the station because it was my day off. I wanted to go to my favorite coffee house on the second floor, read a book, get a latte. Take it easy to some of that relaxing hipster shit they play in these places. I take an elevator to the second floor. While I’m inside, a recording of Handsome Jack plays, “Don’t forget, people, I’m not paying you to be moody and stressed so you pump out piss-poor work. Use your free days to get your kicks off, and then come to work with a smile on your ugly faces and make your favorite boss proud! Or I’ll have to beat ya to a bloody pulp! Kisses and hugs, my little minions!” I roll my eyes and snicker at his orders. “Wow, I feel the love, sir,” I say with just the slightest hint of sarcasm. A ding resounds, cutting through the annoying elevator music version of _House of the Rising Sun_. Why did they have to ruin good music like that? Ugh. I step out of the elevator when the sleek metal doors slide open, and start making my way to the coffee house. I can already smell the espresso.

            Making my way toward the barista at the register, I order a Caramel Macchiato with extra caramel drizzle, and proceed to my favorite spot. It was a giant plush armchair that I could fold my legs up under myself in and snuggle down. I take off my satchel and place it on the nearby side table propped up beside the chair. My outfit was a rather comfortable one: a long, dark red hem knit sweater with a turtle-neck. Underneath were black leggings, and a pair of comfy black TOMS. The sweater was warm and soft, perfect for sipping coffee and reading a good book in. My red hair was in a fishtail side braid, falling down my left shoulder.

            Once I got settled down into the plush chair, I dug through my bag and found my book. I’d just cracked the first page open when I heard my order called out. With a quiet groan, I set my book on the table, and get up, muttering on about how I’d just sat down. As I walk to the bar, I pick up my coffee and decide to get a pastry, as well. The coffee house was rather quiet, aside from the hipster music, and empty as well. There was only two other people, and they were on the other side of the lobby, tucked into the corner with the window wall, talking inaudibly to themselves. The rest of the sitting area was filled with small, intimate seating. Tables with no more than two or three chairs on one side—the side where the two people were—and on the other side where I sat, was filled with armchairs and couches. The place was decked out in your usual coffee place aesthetic. Earth tones, brick walls, cosmetically damaged wood floors, and soft lighting. This was why it was my favorite place. Very tranquil and serene—which, by the way, is what one needs when working for the craziest man in the universe. I still respected him. _You keep reminding yourself that,_ I think.

            At the current moment, I was bent at the waist, lost in my scrutiny of the sweets behind the glass. I barely notice the quiet noise of someone clearing their throat to catch my attention. Straightening up, I take a sip of my macchiato and turn my upper half to see who it was, expecting it to be a work associate. I nearly choke on my drink, and cough into my sweater sleeve. Well, I wasn’t wrong.

            “Ya okay, there, princess?” Jack asks in amused concern.

            I get ahold of myself, and taking another drink, I steady my breathing. “Sorry, sir. You just startled me, is all,” I murmur, half anxious, half embarrassed.

            Okay, it was Handsome _Friggin’_ Jack. Okay. This was okay. I can handle this. No big deal, right? It was just one of the most powerful people in the whole universe and my boss right in front of me. Right? _Right_?

            Jack smirks and chuckles at me. He keeps his voice down, surprisingly respecting the chill vibe of the place, “Yeah, that usually happens, so don’t beat yourself up about it, kiddo.” He looks me up and down, and the nervousness I’m feeling increases tenfold. “So, today’s your free day, huh?” He folds his arms over his chest, and puts his weight on one foot, looking comfortable. I take note of his outfit. A heather gray t-shirt tucked into jeans, and a yellow cardigan. It wasn’t a gaudy yellow. More of a honey golden yellow, on the deeper end of the spectrum, standard Hyperion. On his feet, he wore rounded casual oxfords, made from what looked like a supple, chocolate leather. The most surprising thing about seeing him so casual, was the fact that he wore a pair of glasses. The frames were black, and grasped the lenses by the tops of them, leaving the bottom part of the lenses free. They suited his, already proportionate face, well, and accented his heterochromatic eyes.

            “Yes, sir,” I nod my head, and then looking off to the side, I stare off into space trying to think of something to say, “…I…assume it’s yours as well. Although, I suppose being the big boss, you probably don’t get many days off do you? Is this impromptu?” I smile, trying to calm down, so I can match his easy demeanor. He’s being reasonably pleasant, so I won’t ruin it by being a pile of nerves.

            Jack raises a thick brow and looks shocked, “Wow.”

            Confused, my eyebrows scrunch together in confusion, “Sir...?” I trail off.

            “Oh, well. It’s just everyone usually assumes that I can just take off whenever I like. When, like you said, I rarely get days off,” he reaches out a hand and pats me on the head. “I like you, kiddo.”

            I feel my heart swell with pride at the notion that Jack just said he liked me. I giggle at how he messes my hair up, “Please, sir, you’re messing my hair up,” he begins to chuckle, “plus, half the people on this station might start trying to kill me if they found out I’d won your favor. Please spare me the antagonizing I’ll surely get from your crazy obsessed employees.”

            “Oh, what and you’re not one of those crazy obsessed people,” his voice is teasing.

            “I’m more of the professionally respectful kind, sir,” I smile gently.

            “Oh, I see. Well, if anyone bullies you sweetheart, come tell the principal, and I’ll have it settled,” Jack puts on an imitation of concern.

            Puckering my lip, I nod, “You’ll take care of those bullies real good?” Rolling my eyes, I giggle, letting my pitiful façade fall.

            Jack walks over to the counter, and calls over the barista. He orders a Red-Eye, and turns to me, “Saw ya lookin’ at the case, princess. Why don’t ya pick out one, my treat.”

            Shocked, I say, “Really?” “Sure, princess. You got this sorta charm, and I like it. So, think of this as a reward for making me laugh instead of standing there pissing yourself at the sight of me,” Jack gives me a crooked grin. I feel my heart quicken at the image. I’d never seen him with a genuine smile like that. All my dealings with him were usually business, and that was maybe two or three times. My orientation, being one of them. “Thank you, sir!” I grin and point to the maple pecan turnover I’d been eyeing before Jack showed up.

            Jack turns to the barista, “Two of those, then.” The young man finishes ringing up his order, and scurries off to make Jack’s coffee. “Where’re you sitting…?” Jack inquires. Raising a hand, I gesture towards my spot, and add, “Would you like to join me? I’d love to chat with you more.” There was an identical chair next to mine, separated by the side table that had my satchel resting on it. Cocking his head as if pleasantly surprised, he nods.

“How cute, I’ve stunned you, of all people, into silence,” the words escape my mouth before I can stop myself. The affable grin on my face instantly turns into an embarrassed one instead. “Shit,” I mutter. I wasn’t gonna get away with that one.

“You think your boss is cute, eh?” His cocky grin creeps up his face. I groan and cover my face with my empty hand. “It’s okay, pumpkin, I know I’m the cat’s pajamas.” I blurt out peal of laughter at that, “That sounds like something my grandpa would say.” I can’t hold back the laughter. I try to quiet down, but I can’t. “Oh, hardy-har. I’m not old, I’m 34, you dick.” Jack tries to sound mad, but there’s a tinge of humor to his voice that keeps me from being anywhere near threatened. “Dude, stop, I’m gonna choke.” I gasp. “I hope you do, you brat. I just bought you a pastry and this is what I get?” He’s laughing too, at this point. Finally, the young man brings Jack his coffee, and we wander over to the chairs.

We sit and banter a bit more, sharing laughs at one another’s expense. In that moment, I didn’t feel like I was talking to _the_ Handsome Jack. I was just talking to Jack. Normal, unpretentious, Jack. We weren’t employee and employer, we were just two people talking. It was weird, and in one of the few silences we shared, sipping our respective coffees, I pondered as to what was happening. “Y’know, sir-,”

Jack raised his hand, “Just Jack is fine. It’ll be our little secret…” Jack trails off and rubs the back of his neck, “Uh look, sorry to say this, but there are so many of you it’s hard to remember all your names.” I shake my head, “Naw, it’s fine. We’ve never worked much personally, so it’s cool. I’m Maeve!” I give him a sweet smile. “Maeve,” Jack tries the name out. I nod in confirmation that he’s saying it right, “My mom was from the old world, Earth—well what was left of it after being exploited to hell by Atlas Corp.” I shake my head. “She was from this place called Ireland, and I guess that’s where my name originated. Maeve is the name of this ancient Irish queen of legend. She ruled over Connacht, Ireland. And the coolest part, there was also this mythical queen of fairies who shares my name, too!”

Jack listens to me ramble about myself with bemused interest, grinning. “Wow, kiddo, thanks for the history lesson,” he said it in a mocking way, but I took no offense. It was just how he was. “You’re welcome, _Jack_.” I stick my tongue out at him, taking advantage of the permission he gave me to use his name. I’m curled up in my seat with my feet tucked up under myself. I’m also turned so that my back leans against the armrest so that I can face Jack easier. Closing my eyes and listening to the acoustic guitar playing faintly over the speakers, I take a sip of my third coffee. I’m gonna have difficulty falling asleep tonight it seems. Speaking of which what time is it anyway? I raise my wrist and, after setting my mug down, lift my sweater sleeve to look at my watch. It’s quarter to seven. “Shit,” I whine. “What’s up, princess,” Jack inquires. “It’s almost seven?” I pout. “When do you get in to work?” “I start at nine in the morning,” I answer. “Okay, so I’m confused. It’s not like you’re not gonna get enough sleep.” Shaking my head, I correct, “S’not why I’m worried. I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and that turnover, as delicious as it was, wasn’t enough. I need to get home to my apartment so I can cook myself something for dinner.” Jack nods in understanding, “Y’know… I haven’t eaten dinner yet either. I had originally just planned on popping in and getting a coffee and going right back to the penthouse. Not stay and chat up one of my employees the whole evening,” he laughs when he notices me giving him an unimpressed look.

“You’re not chatting me up,” I say matter-of-factly. Jack says nothing to this, and just looks at me with this unreadable expression. Instead, he continues, “How about you come back up to the penthouse with me, and we can cook something up together?” It was my turn to be stunned silent. “Oh, come on, don’t look at me like that. I’m your boss, and, might I add, a complete gentleman.” I think for a moment, and consider this proposition. Finally, I respond, “Only if I get to decide what we make…”

Jack lets his signature smirk play across his mask, “Yes, ma’am.” He sardonically salutes me.

We finish our coffees soon enough, and after slinging my satchel over my shoulder to rest on my opposite hip, Jack leads the way to his place. We casually stroll at a reasonable pace, talking quietly. “Y’know, Jack, this is gonna sound weird, but, this has been nice. To just talk like two people,” I stare ahead of myself and raise my hands to grasp the strap of my bag that was clinging to my chest. “At first, I was anxious, but I realized that I wasn’t on the floor. We were just two people getting coffee. You weren’t this big bad, powerful president of Hyperion to me anymore. You were a normal person. And, I know, tomorrow we’ll be employee and employer again. But you know what? That’s fine with me. I’m not looking to get on your good side, or anything. I just genuinely like to talk to you. I’m not kissing your ass for brownie points. I could care less about climbing the corporate ladder. I’m happy with where I’ve ended up. I love my job, y’know. I’m content with what I have.” I pause to look at his face. He’s gazing ahead like I was before, listening quietly, with another unreadable expression. “I don’t want you to act like my buddy when we’re on the job. Just as much as I don’t want you to act like my boss while we’re just out and about like this. I don’t like mixing work and play, right? When I’m at work, I’m at work. And vice versa.”

Jack finally turns to me, and stops walking. We were in front of what I assumed was his penthouse’s elevator. Jack presses the button, and when the doors open we get inside. Jack leans against the wall of the elevator after putting in the password to get to his floor, and looks at me hard. It’s as if he’s really thinking on what I said. “Maeve,” he starts out gently, “you know when I said I liked you back in the coffeehouse?” I nod, listening and carefully keeping my face neutral. “I’m really glad I said that. I thought you were gonna be interesting enough when we started talking, but after what you just said, I feel like we have a lot in common. You’re smart, good at what you do, funny, interesting… I respect you.” I take note that he called me by my name, and not kiddo or princess or some other dumb nickname. I also feel a huge swell of pride at having earned Jack’s respect. Jack continues, “Listen, if what you’re offering is…,” he trails off rolling his hand in front of him trying to think of the right thing, “a-a friendship sorta deal. Then I can honestly say I would like that. You gotta understand something though: I will, just like you said, treat you like an employee while we’re on the clock. So, don’t expect special treatment.” I nod at Jack’s serious expression. “If you mess up, I’m gonna kick your ass for it. If you do well, then you’ll be rewarded. But off the clock? As far as I’m concerned, we’re intellectual equals. We’re pals, amigos, buddies, blah blah blah. You get it.” He says the last sentence with a matter-of-fact tone.

I hold my hand out in front of me with the biggest grin creeping up my lips, when Jack takes it I say, “That sounds like a fair deal to me,” I chuckle and add, “but maybe you could avoid tossing me out of the airlock if you’re in a foul mood?” He cracks a wicked smile, “I’ll try to avoid your work station if I’m on a rampage, kiddo.” I laugh emphatically, “I guess that’s good enough.”

When we make it to Jack’s penthouse I stare in awe. It was luxurious, to say the least. The entire far side wall of the room was glass that reached up to the highest ceiling I’d ever laid eyes on. Elpis was in perfect sight, glowing with purple and red scars. The penthouse was still dark, so the color from the moon set the entire place with an eerily beatific shade of deep magenta. It was an open concept style, with the kitchen/dining room area taking up one half, and a sitting area with a large screen TV taking up the other. The kitchen had a bar with a dark black and silver marble top that matched the kitchens counters. Dark wood veneer cabinets lined the wall accompanied by sterling silver appliances and fixtures. The living room floors were the same dark brown wood as the cabinets. A black squared couch, chair, and loveseat, sat atop a thick cream color fur rug, which was in front of the large TV. In the corner where the living room’s side met the large glass wall, was a set of stairs with black metal railing and the familiar dark wood of the floors and cabinets for the steps. I assumed it was where it led to the penthouses bedroom and bathroom.

The lights were finally turned on in the kitchen side, and jack took off his cardigan, throwing it on the back of one of the bar’s tall chairs. Clapping his hands together and rubbing them, his large biceps swell and push against his forearms, and he turns to me, “Mi casa es su casa, as the Truxicans say.” I smile brightly, and place my satchel on the bars counter top. “This place is amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever stepped foot in this nice of a house.” Jack walks up to me, and claps me on the shoulder, “Only the best, baby!” Grinning at each other we begin to plan what to make. I decide on teaching Jack how to make a goddamned ravioli since the asshole didn’t even know how to make one.

“I mean, your 34, for chrissakes, Jack! You should know how to make a goddamned ravioli,” I’m laughing really hard through this entire sentence. Clutching my sides. He sets his hand on his hip and with a slack hand waving through the air, talks in a regal accent, “Oh I am, SO sorry, your highness. It appears I’ve made quite the fool of myself. How incredibly inconsiderate of me.” I reach over and shove him by his shoulder lightly, “Oh shaddup, you buffoon, honestly.” I giggle stupidly, “You’re such a friggin’ nerd.” Jack jerks his back in forth in shock, and raises a hand to the tight fabric of his gray shirt clinging to his chest, “Um, no, cupcake. I’m the coolest damned person you’ve ever been lucky enough to meet. Also, how dare you speak to me as such in my own damn home. Rude, cupcake, rude.”

As we bickered back and forth, Jack sat at the bar and made a drink for himself and I, while I gathered the ingredients for homemade ravioli and sauce. I set them out in an organized fashion, and beckoned to Jack, “C’mere.” He saunters over with two glasses of red wine, and hands me one. “Cheers,” he says, and we clink glasses. “Sláinte,” I say and we take a drink. “What’d you just say?” Jack asks, curiosity written all over his face. “In Gaelic, the ancient language from Ireland, it means good health. The whole phrase is ‘le dea-shláinte’, or ‘to good health’.” He nods and takes another sip, “You like to teach, I take it?” I shrug, “I don’t mind it. It also helps having such an engaged student,” I wink up at him. He was closer than he’d ever been to me, no more than a half of a foot. I notice just how much taller he is than me. “How tall’re you, Jack?” He thinks for a minute while taking a big mouthful of his wine, I follow his example and take a good-sized gulp of my own. It was spicy, yet sweet. You could get drunk this stuff easily, I think to myself.

 “I’m about 6 feet. 5’11” if you want specific measurements. Why?” He finally informs me. I pout, “I’m 5’5” …” I trail off.

“Aw, come on, shorty. Don’t be like that,” he chooses to muss my hair with his hand now, to accentuate our height difference. He reaches down and pinches my cheek. I pull away, fussy, and make to bite his hand. He retracts his hand and takes a big step back, howling with laughter. “You’re an asshole!” I wail. “Not the first, nor last, time I’ll hear that one,” he winks. I wave my hand to dismiss him, and fix my hair. I set aside my glass of wine, almost gone by now, “You’ll be doing the sauce, and helping me make the raviolis after I mix the dough.” Jack’s laughing dies down to a chuckle, “Sure, kiddo, just tell me what to do.”

Halfway through making dinner, Jack turned on some mellow music as some background noise, and I began to sway my hips to the calm beat. He was a good student and picked up what I taught him quickly. While we waited for the dough I quickly threw together to rise, so the gluten could do its job, I taught Jack the tomato cream sauce. It was just starting to bubble on the stove. currently. We were almost finished stuffing the raviolis with spinach and ricotta cheese. Beside the sauce, a pot of water was just coming to boil for the pasta. Jack and I took turns gently dropping the raviolis into the hot water, and after five minutes, we pulled them out and set them aside in a bowl. I was searching through Jack’s cabinet looking for plates, when I spot a stack of gorgeous black ceramic plates with cloudy silvery spots dotting them. They had a shallow dip in them, so they’d be perfect for the raviolis and sauce. I stretched to my tippy toes, as they were on the third shelf. I reach out to steady myself with my left hand but, I miss the counter and start to fall forward. That’s when I feel a big warm hand catch me by my middle. “Careful, kiddo,” Jack chuckles. Then he gently pushes me aside and picks up two of the plates I wanted. Thanking him, I plate the food, and garnish it with parmesan and thyme.

I carry them over to the bar and Jack pours us more wine. I was on my fourth, Jack was on his sixth. I already felt the headiness of the alcohol affecting me, which probably explains why I almost fell earlier. It seemed Jack held his alcohol better than I, which was no surprise as I rarely drank. I sat down, and he sat down beside me. “This looks, great, princess!” I beam up at him, proud of him and myself, “Did ya have fun?” He reaches over and pats me on the back, “Oh, for sure! This was way better than what I had planned! I was just gonna order pizza and drink myself blind while watching those Lethal Weapon movies.” I giggle at his confession, “I was probably just going to eat a frozen meal, myself. I rarely take time to cook anymore, I’ll be honest.”

Jack gestures towards the plates of ravioli, “If you can cook like this, you should try to more often, pumpkin.” I shrug, “Maybe I should.” “Anyway, enough talk, let’s dig in, shall we?” He proclaims. I nod in intense agreement, as I was ravenous by this point. Quickly we both grabbed our forks and took a ravioli into our mouths. I close my eyes and savor the creamy taste of the ricotta accented by the saltiness of the spinach, wrapped up in the heavenly flavor of the pasta and sauce. Jack made a happy noise beside me, and chewed with a smile on his face. After he swallowed he turned to me, “I just might have to take you off constructor manufacturing and hire you as my personal chef, kiddo.” I laugh at this lightly, “I’m flattered, but please don’t take me away from my robots. I might be good at cooking, but I promise I’m even better at my _current_ job.” “Well, if you’re half as good at that job as you are at cooking, then I’m happy I picked you out for the job.”

With surprise written on my face, I turn to Jack, “Are you saying you were the one who gave me my promotion, like, personally you?!” He takes another bite, nodding his head with a neutral expression, “Yep-a-rooni,” he says through a mouthful. Woah. “So, did you recognize me today? At the coffee place?” Jack nodded again, “Sorta. I thought I’d seen you around before, anyway,” he pauses to take a drink of wine, “but after you told me what department you were in and what you were responsible for, it all came back to me.” He turns to me and smirks, “I like your old boss down on Pandora. He’s good guy. He told me this joke at the last New Year’s Eve Bash I threw. Had me rolling on the floor. Anyway, he told me you were the best, and that you’d be a perfect fit for the job opening I had for lead on the Constructor department. Punched the last guy so hard I killed em’.” He turns to me with a shrug, grinning, “Promise I won’t kill you, though, sweet cheeks.”

I roll my eyes and then throw my hand against my forehead, pretending to swoon, “ _Such_ a gentleman!” I punch him playfully on the shoulder, “More like a condescending prick, you know, that, right?” “I am who I am, babe,” Jack throws his hands up with a toothy grin.

We finish eating, talking amicably with one another, and finish off a second bottle of wine. By the time I look at the clock again, I notice it’s one in the morning. “Oh, holy shit.” Jack raises a brow. “Dude, it’s one in the fucking morning.” He looks over at the clock on the stove, and lets out a low whistle, “Uh oh. Better take ya home, huh, babe?” I turn to him, shocked, “You’re gonna walk me home?” Jack chuckles, “ _I_ am a _gentleman_ , remember?” His speech is slurred, as I’m sure mine is as well. I stand from the couch. We had moved after we started the second bottle of wine. I held out a hand to help Jack up, and he took it. I spark of electricity surged up my arm and down my spine, settling in the pit of my stomach. Whatever I felt, Jack must have felt it, too, because the pupils of his eyes bloomed, letting only a sliver of his blue and green irises show. I felt the air catch in my throat, and held my breath. Neither of us moved for what felt like centuries, but was no more than a few seconds. Finally, Jack pulled himself up, stooping over me at his full height. I came face to face with the tight heather gray of his shirt. Swallowing hard, I take the risk of looking up to his face. I regretted that immediately, for his face was so close our noses were almost touching. Jack exhaled, sending wine perfumed breath washing over my face. He lifted a hand to my shoulder and caressed my arm. “Jack…” I murmur. His jaw clenches and unclenches a few times, like he’s fighting with himself. I can smell the intoxicating aroma of his cologne: a spicy, masculine and yet floral scent. I can detect key notes of oranges, as well as peppermint. It was sexy, to be upfront.

“Come on,” he says in a husky voice, breaking my train of thought, “let’s get you home, kiddo.” I feel a pang a disappointment. At what, I couldn’t say. It just felt like I was missing out on something. But I was slammed, so what the fuck did I know.

Jack and I walked to my place in pretty much silence. Save for a few comments about what floor my flat was in the housing sector, and if I liked his place, what my thoughts were on the new statue they’d just put up of Jack in the shopping sector, etc. We finally made it to my door. Helios was deathly quiet by this time in the night, most people were in bed by now. It was a Thursday night, after all. I dig through my bag’s pockets for my keys, while Jack leaned against the wall beside my door. Finally, I fished them out and selected the magnet that unlocked my door. It swung open, and revealed my colorfully decorated apartment. It was bright and cheery, decked out in standard Hyperion yellow and white. I’d found ways to incorporate some pinks and reds as well, since they were my favorite colors. I simple white couch and a wicker armchair made up the living room. The living room/kitchen combo was far more modest than Jack’s place, and had pale wood floors. The third of the room that made up my bedroom was set on an elevated platform with gray carpet. My bed had pastel yellow sheets, and a white comforter with little yellow daisies. A bedside table rested beside it with pictures of my old friends and family back on Eden-5. My desk was also on the platform, tucked up against the wall at the end of my bed. It had my laptop resting against the glass surface, as well as multiple books, files, and manila envelopes. A closet was built into the wall on the opposite side of my bed, but on the ground beside the platform. It dug back into the wall so it was rather big, but not big enough to walk in. My bathroom was straight to the left the front door, and had a simple standing shower with glass walls, a sink and a toilet. My kitchen was more of a kitchenette. Nothing, yet again, like Jack’s Chef’s kitchen. But it was my home, and it came with the job so who was I to complain.

“You want to step inside for a bit?” I ask politely. He accepts, and walks inside. I press the button on the panel on the inside wall, and the door slides shut. Turning, I see Jack inspecting some of the art and pictures I’ve hung and the sunny yellow walls. I walk over to the cage with my budgie, and see she’s asleep. She was a gorgeous mixture of green and orange, with speckles of yellow on her wings. I sense Jack’s presence behind me, and hear him ask, “What’s your parakeets name?” “Her name’s Dotty, and she’s my sweet little angel.” The bird lifts its little head from beneath its wing sleepily, and blinks up at Jack and I. “Hey, sweetie,” I croon, “sorry to wake you.” I poke my finger through the bars of her cage and she shuffles across her swinging perch to nibble on my finger and allows me to pet her head. “You want to pet her, Jack?” I ask considerately. “She won’t bite me, right?” I giggle, “What, the big bad bandit slayer fears a tiny little birdy. Really? Come on, dude.” Jack scoffs at me, and pouts. Giggling again, I assuage his reservations, “Look, even if she does, it’ll only be a little nip. She never bites people who are nice to me.” Jack blanches, “Then she’ll definitely bite me, babe.” I push his shoulder in jest, “Oh, hush. You’re nice enough. Do it, you pansy.”

Sighing in defeat, he glances at me, then looks at Dotty. She hops over closer to Jack, and turns her head so one of her black eyes can inspect him. He pokes a finger through the cage, and she scrutinizes it with interest, then she rests her little forehead on his knuckle. Jack let’s out a breath he’d been holding, and chuckles sheepishly. “See!” I cheer. “I told you she’d like you.” Jack smiles at me awkwardly, and gives Dotty a little rub, before standing back up. I follow suit and walk him over to the door. “It was nice to spend the day with you, Jack. Even though it was unexpected and ran a bit late, I haven’t enjoyed myself that much in a long time.”

Jack runs a hand through his hair, and rests it on the back of his neck, rubbing it in thought as his eyes trail the ceiling. “Yeah, me too, babe. Me too.” Finally, he sets his heterochromatic gaze on me. “We should do this again. When’s your next free day, I’ll have my secretary plan mine for the same day.” I walk over to the calendar hung on my fridge and look at next week’s schedule. “Looks like I’m free next Friday,” I holler. Jack nods, and I walk back over to him. “Thanks for tonight, again, Jack,” I murmur, sweetly looking up at him. He gives me the same lop-sided grin I’d only seen once before at the coffeehouse, and feel my chest go all warm and fuzzy. Sooner, rather than later, he goes back into self-assured mode, and says, “Goodnight, doll. I’ll seeya around. If not, I’ll be in touch with plans for Friday.”

“Yep, goodnight, Jack. And please, be careful walking home, and don’t fall down stairs or anything like that,” I fret. “And make sure you sleep on your side. We drank so much tonight…”

He chortles, “That’s cute. Yeah, sweetness, I’ll be just fine. I’ll sleep on my side, keep a glass of water next to me so I don’t get dehydrated, yadda yadda yadda.” He pats the side of my arm in a friendly, and I grin pleasantly. With one last well wish to each other, we bid each other goodnight, and Jack’s on his way down the hall. I watch him walk to the elevator, and before he gets into the waiting compartment, he shoots me a wink, and steps inside.

Sighing, I walk to my bathroom after shutting and fortifying the door with its security system. I step out of my shoes and place them on the shoe rack on the floor between the front door and my bathroom. Then I strip down to my birthday suit, and throw the clothes into the hamper next to the sink. I set the shower’s panel to get the water heating up to the temp I like, and decide to infuse it with jasmine oil to relax myself before bed. I brush my teeth as I wait, and rinse my mouth with mouthwash. Done with that, I finally step into the steamy shower, and shiver with delight at the warmth of the water. It runs down my back and through my now loose waves of red hair. I stare at myself in the mirror of my bathroom door across the room. I wasn’t overweight by any means, but I had a slight pouch of chub on my tummy. My thighs were thick, and since some people have this preconceived notion, no, I did not have a bitchin’ thigh gap. Those weren’t realistic, sorry to say. I was short and stout, but I loved my body, and this was how I’d looked since I graduated high school. I was 23, and had only been with Hyperion three years since graduating from my advanced program at college. I got out in just under two years, instead of the standard three my course required. I grabbed my face wash and began to apply the cleanser to my face. Then shampoo and conditioned my hair.

I finished up my shower and dried off. Before getting dressed I got out my hairdryer and dried my hair, or else I’d regret it in the morning and wake up to a mess of frizz. I inspected my freckled face in the mirror. I liked my freckles well enough, but somedays I wished they weren’t there. They gave people the impression I was young, and I hated to be treated like a child. I was an adult, dammit. I squinted my chartreuse eyes and examined my reflection a bit more. Done with that, I walked over to my closet and dressed in an old baggy shirt and underwear. Bending over, I set my alarm on my bedside table, and turn on my ambient noise maker to the _Calm Summer Forest_ setting. I clapped my hands after sitting on the bed, which activated the lights, and through the darkness I called out a goodnight to Dotty. She echoed back with a broken goodnight, and I crawled under the covers.

Today was interesting, and that’s putting it extremely lightly. I’d just spent the day with Handsome Fucking Jack. The president of Hyperion and my boss’, boss’ boss. And we behaved like two normal human beings. We had coffee. Not only that, but conversation just sparked out of nowhere. We were teasing each other like school kids. I went home and taught him how to make ravioli while getting totally trashed on wine with him. We had joked around. He had admitted he respected me, _liked_ me. He wanted to be my _friend_ , even. What the hell…

Rolling over to curl into a ball, a snuggle into my soft pillow and blanket, and sigh. Today was eventful, sure, but… I’d also be lying if I said I’d change anything. Today was great. More than great it was amazing. Fantastic. Crazy—so fucking crazy. I couldn’t wait for next week’s free day with Jack. And I fell asleep wondering what Jack had up his enigmatic sleeve.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruh, this shit just gets more fluffy from here. Ur welcome.

            All day long, I’d been working away at my station. Most of the time, I remained at my own station, making the more fragile parts myself. It was nice, though, to be the division boss. I got my own, very nice, work station with the best tools, my own little office, and of course, the respect I deserved. I enjoyed having people look to me for my expertise. Those five years of school and work experience had paid off. The layout of the workshop consisted of large hangers from which half completed and newly started Constructors dangled. Many different machines and workspaces line the walls as well as a handful of maintenance mechs. It was dimly lit aside from the industrial lights hanging over each station, and incredibly steamy due to the many machines at work. A fog filled the room from smoke and heat alike. It smelled like sweat and oil. I had moved on to expediting instructions to an underling in a mech. She was quite new, so I was walking her through doing the wiring for a constructor for the fourth time today. To make matters even more bothersome, it was to the most important part; the eye that digi-structs the loaders.

            “Now, when you thread in that wire, make sure it’s between the red and black wires, but in _front_ of the base of the inner shell. And for chrissakes, do not wrap that wire around the cartridge again,” I pause to watch her follow through, but she immediately messes up. “Ugh, no!” I say in irritation. “Margret, this is the fourth time we’ve put this piece together today! Why is it that you’re the only one messing up? This is the second time you’ve wrapped this wire around that fucking cartridge. You’re not getting paid to waste my time!” I walk up to her, the sound of my work boots thumping against the linoleum echoing through the workshop. Everyone had gone deathly silent. They knew I was hot headed when I was working, and I didn’t tolerate multiple mess ups. I was on a one retry method. You get one mistake, but if you mess up again, then you’re done for the day. “Get outta that damn thing! If you need something done right you gotta do it your damn self!” She sat there staring at me in embarrassment and shame, frozen. It just frustrated me even further, “Out! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!” I whistled at her in short little bursts, like I was calling a dog, and pointed behind me with my thumb. This spurred her into action. She quickly released the safety harness, and it rose. She was out within seconds, then, and scurrying out of my war path. “I swear, things would get done faster around this place if I just did everything myself!” I continue grumbling to myself as I do the girl’s job correctly.

            I’m in the mech for another hour. There was no way I was going to let this girl send out a Constructor that couldn’t even construct. Instead, I sent her to clean the restrooms of the workshop, as punishment. It was starting to get hot in my mech, so I raised the safety bar, and hop out. As soon as I hit the ground, I unzip my black jumpsuit, and roll it down to my hips and tie the sleeves around my waist. Thankfully, I have a gray sports bra underneath, so I feel much better as the air hits my bare, sweaty skin. My mouth was so dry. I decide to get a drink from the vending machine. I head over to the exit, and just as I start to interact with the console, the door swiftly slides open. I turn my attention to the open door, and to my surprise Jack is standing there, fiddling with the console on his side of the door. We stand there and stare at each other for a moment. I was in mild shock, and Jack looked mildly amused and sporting his usual outfit. Suit jacket with jeans and pocket watch.

            “Hey there, kiddo,” he’s the first to speak. Quickly, I respond, “Hello, sir. How are you today?” Jack folds his arms over his chest, “I’m just peachy. Where’re you off to?” “I was taking my five-minute break for the day, actually, sir,” I run my hands through the sweaty mop of red mess that was my hair, as it was in my eyes. “It tends to get hot in here from the machinery, so I was on my way to get a drink from the vending machine.”

            It’s at that moment Jack’s colorful gaze travels down the length of my body, eyeing my midriff noticeably, and then trailing his eyes back up to my face, “I can see that,” he says this with a wicked smirk. My eyes narrow at him, “Yes…,” I trail, almost in a question. “What?” He tries to sound innocent. I decide to let it slide, and move to go past him. I purposefully brush my shoulder into his. I know we said no fooling around on the job, but he was the first one to break the rules, what with that obvious flirting. I hear the light tapping of his sneakers following me, and I look behind me with a questioning eyebrow raised. “Can I help you, sir?” We had arrived at the machine, and I turn my attention to selecting my drink. “I actually came by your station for a reason, kiddo.” I noticed he kept my nicknames down to the one “kiddo” and no more. Trying to keep some semblance of professionalism, I see. I punched in my choice of a blended herbal berry drink. It would be refreshing and keep my mind fueled for the last three hours of my shift. After finishing my purchase by punching in my employee number, I retrieve my fallen beverage from the compartment at the bottom of the machine. Turning to Jack, I twist off the cap and take a long swig. He watches my throat bob from the liquid traveling down my throat. Sighing in satisfaction, I finally ask, “What can I help you with, sir?” I offer him a courteous smile. “I was just, uh, coming in for a progress report,” he seemed distracted. I wasn’t quite sure by what, though. “Of course, sir. Just follow me to my station, and I can pull it up on my console.” I curl a finger in a beckon for him to follow me. As he trailed after me, astonishingly silent, I could feel his eyes on me. It made me sort of nervous, and that confused me even further.

            Soon enough, I was pulling up the report he had asked for on my terminal, and with a “sir” I nodded at Jack to come look. He strolls over from where he had been previously inspecting a Constructor’s test-run. When he got there, I started to move out of the way, but instead he leaned in beside me, giving myself no room to get up from my swivel chair. He was so close to me, I could smell the familiar fruity aroma of his cologne. I tried to stay relax, I really did, but I tensed up. I could feel the warmth radiating from him, and to make matters worse, he rested a hand on the back of my chair, and placed his other hand on the armrest. When he leant down to observe my screen, his face was right beside mine, almost cheek to cheek. I began to walk him through the report, at the request of Jack.

            With his large hand, he gestures to one of the variables in an estimate to how many Constructors we’d have done by the end of the month. “Now, is this telling me how many you make per day?” Reading the number in question, I nod, grimacing, “Yes, sir, unfortunately.” He turns his face to me and I watch him out of the corner of my eye. His eyebrows are risen in a mixture of surprise and awe, “Now, lemme get this straight, kiddo. You’re tellin’ me that you can pump out fifty-three every day, and that’s still too low for you?” I sit back in my chair and fold my arms giving him a slightly confused look, “I’m sorry, should I not be gunning for top efficiency, sir?”

            He stands to his full height and just stares at me for a few seconds. “I’m just surprised you aren’t proud of the work you’ve already accomplished. That’s over twenty more than the last guy I hired could make a day. How many do you think you can make a day?”

            I shrug, still with my arms crossed and stare up at him, unsure of how to feel, “I-I guess, about 58 is what I think we could make at max efficiency. It’s just hard when I have to do most of the work myself, because these buffoons run around with a thumb up their ass’ half the time. I hafta expedite orders to them or they get lost on the system we do in manufacturing the bots.”

            Jack is speechless at this point. He just keeps staring up me with this unreadable expression. Almost like he either can’t believe what he’s hearing, or that he doesn’t know what to say in response. Maybe both? Finally, a small smile grows on his lips, he lets out a breathy laugh, until it starts to grow, along with his grin. He’s in an all-out guffaw at this point, clutching his side, and resting a hand against my desk, trying to catch his breath. His face turns red, and he’s gasping now. I just sit in absolute silence, gaping with wide eyes. “Uh, sir? Are you gonna be alright? Do you want a glass of water? Are you having a panic attack, or, like, a mental break down? Should I call someone? I should call someone.” I’m rambling, having gotten up at this point, fluttering around him and the room nervously. I’m still figuring out who to call, when I hear him calming down, taking deep soothing breaths.

            “I—ha ha—am more glad than I ever—ha ha ha—ever was to have hired you,” he’s still laughing, but nowhere near the hysterics he was in before. “Thank god I punched that last idiot in the face!” He’s smiling, so genuine and warm. He comes closer to me and puts both hands on my shoulders in front of me. “Kiddo, you are something else.”

            Blushing brightly, I stutter out, “Thank y-you, s-sir.”

            Sighing, finally having settled down, he pats me on the right shoulder. I become acutely aware that he’s touching my naked shoulders. His hands are large and warm and rough. They feel nice, I think, they make me feel safe and peaceful. “Listen, kiddo, you are doing just fine already, but, hey, if you can pump out a few more, who am I to stop you? A bad business man, that’s what. So, you keep doin’ you.” He pats me again, and starts towards my office’s door, before stopping and turning around, “Oh, and good job. Why don’t we take an early meal break, and get lunch?”

            Raising an eyebrow, I stare at him, then glance down at what I’m wearing, then back up at him with a nervous chuckle. “Uh, sir, I don’t mean to be rude, but…” Jack’s expression turns sour. Clearly, or maybe it should be obvious, he doesn’t like being told no. “What?” He asks, flatly. I become agitated at his tone and attitude, “Sir,” my own voice comes out clipped and heavily laid with tension, “do you not remember what we discussed last week?” He stalks over to me, accentuating his clear height advantage by looming over me, “Did we not also discuss how, if you did a good job, I’d reward you for it, pumpkin?” He sounds convincingly pleasant, and I’d have probably believed it if it weren’t for his expression. My brows furrow in further disbelief that he is talking to me this way, I understand he is my boss, but the disrespect was too much. I could put up with only so much.

            I lean in closer, challenging him, “And, _sir_ , I quite clearly, told you I had no intention of being rude. I am drastically underdressed, and not to mention, sweaty and gross from my day’s work of playing babysitter and doing other people’s work. So, I appreciate the offer, but perhaps I could get a raincheck, **_sir_**.” The last word addressing him, is sharp and I can see the corner of his eyes and mouth just barely flinch in response. That had done it, I had vexed him.

            His voice was low, and his colorful eyes bore into mine, fiery and intense, “We’re going to go hop by your place, then. You can shower and change. _Then_ , you are going to lunch with me. **_That clear enough for you, kiddo_**?” He finished with a sneer, barring his teeth. It was clear I had no choice in this matter. I was going to lunch, no matter how much I opposed the idea; no matter how much I wanted to stay with my robots and finish some more work. There goes my algorithm, right out the airlock.

            I remained silent for a painfully long amount of time, my eyes squinting to slits, my lips in a thin line. Finally, I spoke, “Very well, sir.”

            And just like that, he was back, “Great! Let’s getting goin’, kiddo, daylight’s a burnin’,” he laughs, “Oh right, time is irrelevant here! We’re on a space station.” He continues to laugh at his own joke. I roll my eyes behind his back, _what a child, honestly._

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            We arrive at my apartment, and I invite him inside. I’d let our earlier argument in the office go by now. I was quite over it. Whatever, at least I was getting free food, and perhaps even a pleasant discussion out of a Jack. “Make yourself comfortable, sir,” I gesture towards my seating. “Ah, ah, ah,” he begins, “You’re off the clock, babe. It’s just Jack now,” he winks.

            Rolling my eyes, I’d been doing that a lot recently, I nod. “Yeah, sure, Jack. Does that mean I can bully you now?” I cross my arms over my chest. I ‘d pulled my arms through my sleeves again, wanting to show an appearance of decorum around the rest of the station, even if it was still unzipped down to my belly button. I was just so damn sticky and gross from my sweaty work. That shower was starting to sound awfully tantalizing right about now. “Oh hoh, that’s cute, cupcake. If anyone’s a bully, it’s me,” he jabs his thumb into his own chest.

            I pretend to ponder what he’s said for a moment or two, and nod in exaggerated agreement, “Yeah, you know, you’re probably right. What with all your obvious mommy issues, it’s not surprising, to be honest,” I laugh cruelly, “You were mommy’s precious little baby, weren’t you?” I push my bottom lip out, shaking it with a fake whimper. I cackle and brush past him, selecting the outfit I was going to where to lunch. He sits on my futon, sulking. Right as I walk by him to get to the bathroom, he grabs my wrist. At the same moment, my change of clothes flew into the air, fluttering to the ground around us, “Hey, what’re y-,” I’m cut off with a yelp as he pulls me into his lap. “Jack! What the hell!” I squirm in his lap trying to get free from his hold. He’s laughing his head off, “Now, settle down, sweetness. This is your punishment,” his eyes burn with a wicked glee. That was when he traded my left hand to be held tight alongside my right within his much larger one. Then using his free hand, he began to assault my sides with wriggling fingers. He… he was tickling me… My giggling filled my apartment, echoing around loudly.

            I scream with laughter, as he inserts his hands underneath the fabric of my jumpsuit, unrelenting, warm fingers push into my naked sides with painfully ticklish pressure. I try to pry my wrists free from him, but his grip is tight and unyielding. “Let me go!” I feel tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. Jack chuckles darkly, “What are the magic words, princess?” I’m stubborn, but I truly was not in the position, nor mindset, to question him. “Please!” I shriek.

            Jack’s drinking this up with the most pleased look on his smug face, “ _Please, **what**_?”

            “Please, stop tickling me! Let me go! I’m sorry!” I beg and cry. That seems to have done the trick, because he immediately ceases his assault on my ribs, but keeps control of me by the wrists. I fall slack against his chest, winded with a tear streaming down my flushed face from how hard I’d been laughing. “Now was that so hard?” Jack says in a teasing voice. I look up at him, finally starting to settle down, and give him a look to kill, and with venom in my words, I say, “ **Fuck. You.** ” Jack just cackles, clearly unimpressed. That was when enough had been enough for me, something snapped in me. My face dropped all expression, and I became quiet as death, as a stare at him. He’s still laughing away, and before he, and even myself, knew what was happening, I reeled my head back and snapped it forwards. When my forehead connected with his nose, I satisfying pop was audible. Next, the pained bark of Jack, followed closely by the twisted sneer that spread across my face in petty consummation of the vengeful deed I’d done. He still held my wrists, which should have been surprising, but this was Jack we were talking about, so of course he wasn’t that hurt. I appraised his face, feeling a cruel pleasure at the blood trickling from his nostrils. His eyes were squeezed shut, in a tight expression. Reaching with his free hand, he took hold of the bridge of his nose, and in one swift movement he popped his nose back into place.

            When he opened his eyes, he gawked at me with another one of his indecipherable expressions. With the hand securing my wrists, he raised them to his nose, and with the sleeve of my right hand, he wiped his nose clean of blood. At least it was black fabric… I crack a blinding smile, and in the most cheerful voice I can muster, I say, “May I go take my shower now, Jackie?”

            He cocks his head to the side for a moment and his eye brows scrunch for a moment. Then, he brings his face close to mine, with a toothy grin, “You got a huge pair, you know that?” He says this in a reverential tone, “What the hell is wrong with you? You do know who I am, right?” He barks out a laugh, “Kiddo, you have got to be the ballsiest person on this station, besides myself, of course.”

            I snort, “I think the problem isn’t with me not knowing who you are,” I say in a playful tone, “it’s you not know who the hell _I_ am.” He blinks in surprise, a goofy grin turning up a corner of his mouth. I continue, leaning in close, “You were the one who started the physical assault, so I figured it was only fair to pay back the favor.” His eyes narrow, still entertained by all of this. I decide to gently pull my hands away, he tightens his grip for a moment, accentuating the point that, while I might be willful, he was still in control. Finally, he grants my hands back to me, and I jump up no more than a second later. I trot a few steps away from him, and he leans forward with a grunt. I giggle at him, “Oh come on old man, you can’t be sore after that, can you?” He becomes spirited again, “Oh, I can think of a few things that would _actually_ make me sore.” A light flash through his eyes; a dreadfully wayward light. I ignore him, instead of reacting, and start to collect my clothing. Once successfully gathered, I turn sharply and march to my bathroom. When the door seals shut, I set the controls to lock after I put in the password. I don’t trust him for a moment.

            My body falls back against the door of my bathroom and I sigh in exasperation, “Jesus fucking Christ,” I murmur. I quickly set my shower settings, deciding on a comforting lilac scented shower, so I can relax after that torture I’d just endured. Stepping into the water, I feel the sweat and grime washing away. I bask in the steamy rivulets of water and moan in content as the jet setting works at my sore shoulders. I wash my hair, and hop out of the shower. I blow dry my hair, and let it fall in its usual bouncy mess of loose curls. My hair was naturally kinky, and unless I styled it right after a shower, it looked like a puffy orange cloud. Satisfied with that, I put on my clothing. It was a simple outfit: black skinny jeans and a white t-shirt with my favorite band’s logo printed on the front in faded grey. A hop back over to the mirror and put on some black eyeliner and lipstick in a deep maroon. I favored that shade of lipstick, because it made the apple green of my eyes pop.

            I exit the bathroom and walk out to the living room to see if Jack was ready to leave. I saw that he was gone from the futon, but it didn’t take long to find him. He was on my bed, napping. I pad delicately over to Jack. It was easy enough to accomplish with my bare feet. I reach the bed and lean over him to study his face—his mask—and reach a hand up to jostle his arm. I grasp him by his bicep and squeeze, shaking gently to rouse him. He mumbles something, before slowly blinking his eyes open.

            Gently, I speak to him in a tender voice, “Jack, wake up. Aren’t you hungry?” His heterochromatic eyes fall onto mine drowsily, and his mouth opens to a yawn as he stretches his body out on my bed. He eventually sits up, and I pat his back to try and stir him to speak. He’s kinda cute when he’s like this, I think. Another yawn escapes Jack, before he finally responds, “Totally, babe,” he speaks through his yawn, “where do ya wanna go?” I smile kindly, “I chose what we ate last time, how about you decide this time?” He shrugs, “Cool, I was just being nice. I prefer it this way anyhow.”

            While he sips on a glass of cold water, I walk over to my closet and dig out a red plaid button up, and slip it on. Jack is fully awake and back to normal, now, and heads over to the door. I follow and quickly slip on my pair of black Vans hi-tops, and we’re off to the elevator to go to a bistro Jack proposed. “Sorry for taking so long,” I apologize feeling sheepish. He pats me on the shoulder, “It’s fine, you didn’t take that long, cupcake. Besides, you look cute in your little outfit,” he winks. I can feel myself grow warmer at his praise, “Ya think so?” I look up at him through my lashes. He throws an arm around my shoulders, “I wouldn’t lie to you, ol’ buddy, ol’ pal.” That gives me a huge burst of confidence, and I feel like I’m on cloud-nine. Jack wasn’t hard on the eyes in the least bit, I admit it, so to hear him tell me that was wonderfully flattering. “Yeah, what you did with your face is nice. I’ve never understood shit about makeup, but people who wear it seem to have the right idea, anyway.”

            We arrive at the lift, and clamber inside. Jack opts to lean casually against a wall of the elevator, as is typical, and I stand with my hands in the pockets of my jeans. The lift begins to move slowly upwards to the floor we need. Jack starts to say something, but at the same moment, the lift’s lights flicker and then blackout entirely. The cubicle of the elevator itself ceases its ascension, as well.

            Both of my hands go flying out and hit the walls of the corner of the elevator I’m in. “What the fuck?!” I start to panic, my breathing increasing in speed. I was going to have a panic attack if this elevator didn’t start to fucking move again. “Oh, my god, we’re gonna fuckin’ die,” I moan lowly, trying hard not to hyperventilate. Somehow, through my near mental breakdown, hear Jack shuffling across from me, and then I feel his big, warm hands connect with my shoulder. His face is close to me, so when he speaks, I feel his warm breath against my cheek, “Listen, we’re gonna be fine, sweet heart.” He sounds so… gentle. Did someone switch places with Jack in the dark? Because this didn’t sound like Handsome Jack. This didn’t feel like Handsome Jack. Then it hit me. This _wasn’t_ Handsome Jack. This was Jack. This was the man who I’d made such quick friends with. The man who shared dinner and a drink with me. The man who treated me with respect he rarely exhibited anyone. His touch was as fond, as was his voice. Yet, I found it difficult to distinguish which was warmer, his hand or his words. My shaking began to diminish under his touch, and I regarded his words closely, “There is a safety mechanism on the elevators, okay? We’re instantly locked into place by emergency clamps on either side of the shaft. We aren’t going anywhere until the power starts back up, or someone comes to get us.”

            I slowly reach my arms up and wrap them around his middle. Jack pulls me in closer and holds me to him, so I rest the side of my face on his chest. He was warm, and his cologne was intoxicating at such a close range. It had become his signature of sorts; it’d been imprinted in my brain. Just as much as this moment would. He caresses a soothing hand up and down my back, “Hey, it’s gonna be fine, kiddo. I promise. So just say something so I know you aren’t having a panic attack, won’t ya?” He chuckles anxiously.

            I react to his words by snuggling into his broad chest, and inhale his scent. Sighing, I finally respond, “I-I think I’m calming down,” my voice shakes with my nerves, “thank you, Jack.” “Aw, shucks, kiddo,” his chest shakes with his quiet laughter, “you’re more than welcome. I mean, I get to play the hero for a beautiful damsel, so I’m happy to be of service.” My face heats up at the mention of me being beautiful, and I tighten my hold around his torso. He rests his chin on top of my head and a cuddle my nose into his pectoral. His vest is soft, and feels nice against my skin. “Jack?” He hums in response. “Why are you so nice to me?” He’s quiet for a long while, I can hear the wheel turning in his head as he thinks on how he wants to answer. Finally, he says, “I mean, I already said I respect you, right? I don’t know. It just, feels good to be nice to you. Everyone else feels like such a hassle. But I enjoy being nice to you, genuinely. You are smart, funny, gorgeous, and you scare the living shit out of those a-holes in your department and beyond. You demand attention. Plus, you know how to take a joke.” He nudges me, causing me to look up at him in response. I can’t see anything. It was so pitch black, that if I put my hand up to my face, I wouldn’t be able to see it, but… it just felt right to lift my face in his direction.

 I can feel the movement of his lips as he speaks, just inches from my face, “Hey, babe, what do you think of me?” I giggle, “Fishing for compliments, are we?” He grunts in annoyance, “Maeve…” Giggling again, I finally say, “Jack, you already know how terrific you are-,” “Yes, but I want to know how _you_ think,” he cuts me off. Sighing I continue, “Alright, alright.” I shake my head, “I like how down to earth you are around me. How light and flippant you can be. Even though, in front of everyone else, you’re such a hard ass.” “Hey!” He protests, laughing along with me. “Hey, yourself! It’s true and you know it.” I push my hands against his firm chest. He wobbles a bit, and tenses his hold ‘round my waist. “Look, Jack, I think you’re a multifaceted human being. You have good intentions, you have dreams, but what’s more, you have flaws. And you know what? People will call those imperfections, but no, that’s the good stuff. Those-those little idiosyncrasies that other people would just ‘put up with’, but I find so charming. Those eccentricities that no one else really notices. You’re one of a kind, Jack, you truly are. You don’t need me to say that. You should already know.” I smile sheepishly in the dark. I wait to hear his response, more nervous than I’d ever been. I was surprised at my candor, as I’m sure he is, too.

            Eventually, he speaks, “Maeve, no one…” He trails off, like he’s having difficulties talking, but continues after a beat, “no one has said anything remotely like that since my wife…” My breath leaves my lungs in a rush. I can’t believe what I am hearing. “Jack,” I breath his name out in shock of his openness, “you don’t need to talk about her, really. I know it’s difficult.” I reach up to find his face, and after lightly trailing my hand up his neck and chin, I find his check. I use my thumb to caress his mask, and wonder if he can feel it. The way he shifts his head’s weight into my hand, makes me believe he, at least somewhat, can. He nods his head, “Thank you.” His voice is smaller than it’s ever been before.

We were quiet for a long while, until finally, I break the silence. “How long d’ya think we’re gonna be stuck in here?” I feel Jack shrug. We had moved by now, sitting on the floor of the elevator with our backs resting against the wall. It was chilly in the compartment, and I was sidled up next to him, are arms pressed together. Jack sat with his legs bent in front of him, resting his hands on his knees stretched out on either side of him. I had my legs crossed, and cuddled into my plaid shirt.

            “You cold?” He asks in curiosity. I hum in response, indicating that, yes, I was indeed cold. Jack decides to put an arm of my shoulders, and wrench me in closer. He was always so warm, “You’re like a fucking oven,” I say, bemused. “You can just call me hot, babe. No need to get all fancy with your pick-up lines.” I roll my eyes, “Get bent.” We both laugh at each other. At the same time our laughter dies down, my stomach decides to growl loudly. I groan in mortification. Jack’s chuckling can be felt, rather than heard, beside me. “Geez, do you have a skag living in your stomach, or what?” I slap his knee, “You’re such a prick!” I can’t help but laugh, too. “How long are we gonna be in this dark, icebox?!” I was getting frustrated.

            Right at that moment, the lights flicker on. My face brightens and turns to Jack’s. He’s looking at me to, and its then that I realize he’s right in front of my face. Almost nose to nose. We separate quickly enough, then. Standing up, I dust my rear off, and see that we were moving up towards the shopping district. “Oh, thank whatever entity that got us out of this jam!” I clap my hands together and rub them in fake gratitude to a fake savior. My Irish Catholic family would keel over if they only knew. Jack laughs at my antics. “Alright, enough with the peanut gallery,” he shakes his head. I simply stick my tongue out at him in response. “If you don’t put that away, I’m gonna confiscated it.” He sounds serious, but I know he isn’t. I blow a raspberry, and then promptly retract my tongue.

            The elevator doors open a half minute later, and I rush out. “Damn, am I happy to be out of there.” I breathe a sigh of relief. Jack saunters over to my side, with his hands in his jacket pockets. “Yeah, I’m sure, kiddo.” I check the clock in the center plaza, and see it was a quarter past two by Helios’ time zone. “Shit, were we really in there for an hour and a half?!” My eyes widen in shock. Jack whistles, “Wow, no wonder my ass hurts,” he shakes his head with a sadistic smile, “whoever’s at fault for making me sit on that dirty elevator floor is in deep shit.”

            I nod in exasperation, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can we go eat before you shove someone out of an airlock, I’m starving!” Jack pretends to be deeply upset by this, and grumbles like a child, “Fine. You ruin everything!” Rolling my eyes, I say, “Oh, I’m sure.” He begins to stalk away, staying in his new character, keeping his hands stuffed in his pockets. “Oh, poor baby!”

            I chase after him, jogging to keep up with his long strides. We make it to the small bistro he’d spoken about and are quickly seated. I couldn’t help but notice all the stares we got on the way, however. Along with the current stares we were getting, now. Each person was either extremely shaken, eyes bugging and mouth agape; or they were burning with envy, faces contorting with quiet rage. Not to mention I felt entirely under dressed. I wasn’t expecting to eat at such a ritzy place.

I shifted in my side of the booth uncomfortably. Jack takes notice, and raises a questioning brow. I lean over the table, and he follows—almost unknowingly—my lead. “We have an audience,” I whisper awkwardly. Jack raises slowly and turns his head to the side so he can see for himself. We were set in a booth off to the back of the restaurant. A wood wall, adorned with rustic décor and pictures were to our left, and to our right was the bar. In between the wall of booths and the bar, were wood tables and chairs painted black, with dark green table cloths and individual lanterns hanging above each one. It set the whole place in a calmly lit atmosphere. It was nice to see that Jack enjoyed peace and quiet while he ate, much like myself.

            Speaking of Jack and peace and quiet, he was currently glaring daggers at the onlookers. His scowl promised a bad time to anyone who didn’t obey him. In an instant, everyone turned away, and went back to their individual business. Although, I was sure they were now gossiping or shit talking the pair of us, instead. I scoff in indignation. Turning his attention back to me, Jack offers a crooked smile, now that he knew no one was watching. It set butterflies loose in my stomach, and I lowered my head bashfully. I look back up and bite my lip to hold back how happy it made me to see his real smile. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but the waitress chose that moment to arrive at our table.

            “Mind if I order for you?” Jack inquires. I shake my head, “Go right on ahead.” He turns his torso to face the waitress, “We’ll have the almond-crusted salmon, and serve it on a bed of wild rice.”  
            The waitress writes this down on a pad, “Tres bien, monsieur. And what wine pairing would you like today?” She raises her gaze to Jack.

            Jack gives me a sideways glance, and then flicks his eyes back to the waitress, “Bring out a bottle of Chardonnay.” With a final scratch at her pad, she nods, and announces that bread will be served shortly.

            As she walks away, he rests his elbows on the table. “Well, well. Someone’s fancy,” I tease. Jack smiles and rests his chin on his folded hands and shrugs. We chat for a few minutes before the waitress is back with a basket of bread and our wine. After dipping a knife into some butter, I smother it onto a slice of rye bread. When I bite into it a wonderful crunch can be heard, and the delicious taste envelopes my tongue. I hum a happy sound, and Jack watches me from across the table, that same crooked grin from earlier playing at the corner of his lips. “Sounds like that must be good, huh?” I blink my eyes open at his words, and chew my food sheepishly. Jack reaches into the basket of bread, and after slathering his own slice with butter, takes a bite. He makes a noise of contentment, as if agreeing with me.

            The rest of the meal was spent laughing, talking, eating, and drinking. It was so strange, but… I was having the most fun I’d had in such a long time. All because of Jack. I mean, sure, he was a pain in the ass, and a downright egocentric prick sometimes. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel myself… I’m not sure how to put what I feeling. It was like I was continually growing warmer—happier, even. When he smiled an honest smile, it was indescribable how I felt. I noticed things about him more and more. The way his laughter changed when he was nervous, which I had never noticed he could even become nervous beforehand. It was surreal how human he truly was. Especially after the years of knowing of him, and eventually, working under him. He was publicized as this domineering patriarch of fortitude; nearly revered as a god, to some. Yet, in front of me, he was different—eagerly so. It was as if being his true self in front of me made him carefree for the first time in many years.

            We finished lunch, and he escorted me back to my place. Upon entering my flat, I offer to take his jacket. He hands it to me, and as I turn my back to hang it on the coat rack, I try to shake the visual of Jack’s broad shoulders and exposed forearms out of my head. I needed to calm down. We were going to be spending the rest of the day together, since we were both free from any obligations. I decide to pull out my movie case, and plop down on the futon beside him. His arms were resting on the back of the futon, and it was also not the biggest, so I was tucked in very close beside him. Looming over me, he scanned the DVD’s I had with nominal interest. We finally decided to pop in a horror movie—one I hadn’t seen in a few years, so it would hopefully get me scared, even if just a bit. I jump up to put it in the player. While the title sequence plays, I scrounge up some blankets and pillows, and throw them onto Jack. He giggles—yes, giggles—and begins to lay them so we can get comfortable. I turn all the lights out and grab the bag of my favorite candy from my pantry. As I settle into the big nest of pillows and blankets Jack’s created, the movie’s first scene begins to play.

            About halfway in, the movie is beginning to ramp up the horror. The main protagonist is walking down to the basement, stupidly, to see what the source of the noise was. I’m on the metaphorical edge of my seat. Right as they reach the bottom step, something runs past them in the dark. The music crescendos at the same moment, which makes me scream and duck my head into Jack’s shoulder. I had slowly, and unknowingly, migrated my way closer to Jack. I was practically on top of him, our thighs pressed together. He simply throws an arm over my shoulders, and laughs at me and the film. “I can’t believe you’re scared of this shit! When my daughter was going through her terrible two’s, she threw tantrums scarier than this.” I had my hands in front of my face, peeking over them. I was cradled under Jack’s arm, and felt better for it. He was a badass, so anything that tried to hurt would have to go through him—which was a nice thought.

            “I-It’s… not so much the monster that I’m scared of. It’s the darkness. If I could see it, I’d have a fighting chance. This thing can see in the dark and come after me. I can’t do fuck all about it.” I start to calm down now, since the protag finally figures it’s a good idea to get the hell out of dodge and up those stairs. It’s right when their foot hits the first stair, that they get grabbed around the ankle and drug into the inky blackness of the basement. They scream bloody murder, until it’s abruptly cut off with a wet strangled cry. Their flashlight clatters to the floor, illuminating their lifeless body being drug towards the back of the basement by some unknown force. The anonymity of the thing that drags them away, makes for the scene to be even more chilling.

            As the scene transitions to a bright sunny day, I realize now, how wrapped up I am in Jack’s arms. I delicately push against his thigh to get free, but he ignores me and presses me closer. He just continues to watch the movie, a toying grin playing with the corners of his mouth. Something in me caves, and I rest the side of my face against his chest, sighing. Not in dejection or irritation, but in contentment.

            We continue the movie like this. During, I offer him a piece of my candy here and there, and he accepts, taking it from my fingertips with his mouth. At first, I was bewildered. Especially when his bottom lip caught the pad of my index finger. I quickly got over it; though I’m not sure why. It was comfortable being with Jack like this. It felt good to have a friend, considering the few I _did_ have in the short month of being on Helios, they weren’t this close with me by far. I couldn’t honestly tell you how Jack and I became so close so quickly. However, I was sure it had something to do with how easily we understood one another.

            Jack and I wrap up the night. He helps me fold my blankets and put them away alongside the pillows. It’s late in the evening, around six o’clock, and we’d watched another movie. He’d chosen that one himself, and it frightened me even more than the last. It was about a Russian bed time story come to life, creepy kids and dolls galore. Nightmare fuel, to be certain.

            “Dude, I’m gonna have nightmares tonight for sure!” I mope. Jack just chuckles at me, “Well, if you have a bad dream, just call me and I’ll be right over to change your diaper.” I pout even more at his teasing, “I’m not being a baby about this, Jack, I’m serious. You have no clue how scary this space station can be when your all alone in the dark.” His eyes flash, as if remembering my admission from earlier about fearing the dark. The corners of his gaze soften, and his mouth turns up in his genuine smile, “Look, if you really get that upset later tonight, just call me.”

            I blink in disbelief of his offer, “Are you being sincere?” He barks out a clipped chuckle, and nods his head. “Yeah, kiddo, I am. I feel sorta bad about making you sit through that second one. I’ll admit, I was creeped out a few times, myself. Those fucking dolls…” He shudders. I smile, slightly, “It makes me feel a bit better to hear you say that, actually.”

            We say our goodbyes, and much like last time, I watch him head to the elevator. He even remembers to wink at me before getting in. “I really hope that the elevator doesn’t break this time,” I murmur in worry. Shaking my head, I close my door, and head for bed. I had a long day of work to catch up on tomorrow, and I wanted a good night’s sleep.

            I struggled with a few nightmares, but I refused to call Jack. I had a feeling he would answer, and I would feel to guilt-ridden and wretched that he would. So, I pushed through it like a big girl, and got what sleep I could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest with you, I didn't expect this chapter to be so late. I wanted to have it finished three days ago, but as my fellow students will probably understand, procrastination and schoolwork are making me their bitch. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ So here's the chapter now. Hope it was worth the wait. I also dearly hope each and everyone of you have a great holiday season, and for the students, to pass all your exams and all of your finals and may your essays be bomb af! ETC ETC ETC!!!! 
> 
> ((Also, if anyone would like to beta lemme know in the comment section, cuz I barely skimmed this for errors. thank you))


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. <3 Love you guys.

            I woke with a violent jerk. Sweat beaded on my brow, and my breath came in short, shaky puffs, wheezing slightly.

Ever since watching that movie with Jack, I had been having nonstop nightmares. It was a week later, and still they persisted. Even with Jack’s invitation last week, I still refused to call him. I couldn’t. We were close, sort of. Just, I didn’t feel like I was ready to depend on him that way. Sigh. Still, I’m not sure how much more I can take of being tired all the time.

As I dressed for the day, I hit my forehead on my closet door. I was putting my black work overalls on, and tripped. I fell forward and smacked my head; pretty fucking hard. So now, along with my sour mood, fucked sleeping cycle, and grumpy face, I now had a giant red circle in the middle of my forehead. Well, not in the exact middle. How I fell, it’s more to the left of my forehead, over my left eye.

Let’s put it this way: Maeve isn’t happy today.

So, with that, I finish getting ready by pulling my hair into a messy bun, and tie a bandana around my head to keep the hair that’s too short out of my eyes. I was just putting in the code to lock my door, when my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I look down to my glowing pocket wondering who it could be this early in the morning. I woke up hours before everyone else, big boss duties to do and all that. It was a surprise is all I’m saying.

Swiftly, I put in my password for the door, and after it was secured, I pulled my phone out and began walking to the elevator. The name on the bright screen made me falter in my step and almost trip.  


            _Mum calling…_

Her splash image was of herself; smiling in her garden on Eden. It made my heart wrench and stomach flip, all in a very bad way. I turned my phone on silent and shoved it back in my pocket. Today, really, really sucked. I could feel my face contorted in a strong grimace as I climbed into the elevator. I scrubbed a hand over my mouth, and sighed. I was just walking down the hall towards the workshop, when I heard a familiar voice behind me.

“Maeve, I’ve been trying to call you,” Jack says, in clear frustration.

Without turning around, though I had stopped in my tracks, I checked my phone. My mum’s number was there, leaving only one missed call. Below that however were fourteen missed calls from Jack.

 _“Shit,”_ I breathe.

Jack makes his way to me and stands in front of a very guilty me. A cross my arms over my chest and rub my hands up and down my arms. I can barely make eye-contact. I feel awful.

“Aw gee, Jack…,” I murmur, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.” I sigh for the millionth time, and it was still morning.

I finally look up at him, instead of seeing a cross expression, he has patience and concern written plainly in its place. His colorful eyes bore into my own, and root me in my place in the hallway. He takes a step forward, and places it on my shoulder.

“Hey, pumpkin, are you alright?” My heart began to race at the gentle tone of his voice. His eyebrows rose and fell at the end of his sentence. He reached the hand that wasn’t on my shoulder to touch my forehead and touches the—no doubt vibrant red—welt on my head. “Maeve, how did you get this?”

I chuckled nervously under his touch, “I—uh—hit my head getting ready this morning. Slammed it right into the door of my closet, like an idiot.”

He shook his head, “Nah, you aren’t an idiot. Shit like this happens,” his eyes flicker to mine, the spark of a joke lighting up his eyes, “not to me though. I’m not as dumb as the rest of you.”

I roll my eyes in response and reply, voice thick with sarcasm, “ _That’s not redundant_.”

He laughs at me, and puts an arm around my shoulders and leads me to my workshop and then into my office. We joke all the way, Jack totally letting go of the fact that I’d missed all his calls. As we walked into my office, he leads me to my big, soft armchair in the corner, and let me sink into the squishy confines of it. I moan, and lean my aching head back to rest against the backrest. I close my eyes and hear Jack searching around my office for something. After a few minutes, I hear his footsteps walk towards me.

            Opening my eyes, I see that he’s holding a first-aid kit in his hands. He squats down in front of the chair, and crooks his finger, “Gotta come closer, princess.” I can feel my cheeks and back of my neck heat up at his words and gestures. I obediently do as I’m told however. He’s so tall, that even squatting, he’s taller than me sitting down. Now closer to him, I get the rare occasion to see him eye to eye. It made my heart flutter again. It was going to fly away by the end of the day.

            Jack took his eyes away from mine, that signature smirk still on his mouth, but I could feel the tension leave my body slightly. His eyes were so intense. Instead of staring me in the eyes, he brought a cotton swab of anti-inflammation cream up to my forehead and concentrated on that. He spoke softly to me about what he was doing, and why, just to make the constant contact and invasiveness of his proximity less awkward. That made me feel better. The coldness of the cream, combined with the delicate weight of his hand on my knee to steady himself, made me calm down. He never pressed to much on my injury with the cotton swab, and when he put the bandage on it, I couldn’t even feel it.

            I was captivated by his eyes. I could never get over how endless the blue one was, like the clearest turquoise ocean. The other eye was a lush green, with little flecks of gold hugging the pupil. His eyes told a story, as well. The little, barely visible, wrinkles told me of all the smiles he’d had his life. The lines beside his pouty lips told me a similar story of all the laughs that followed those smiles.

            Suddenly, I realized I had been caught checking him out, by the way his lips twitched up into an amused grin. I _had_ been staring at his lips. _Oh gods_ , what if he thought I wanted to k-. Oh no. No, no, no. I can’t think about that with him. He was my boss. More importantly, my _friend_. We were just friends, and that’s all I wanted, …right?   _SHIT._ My face and body were on fire. The weight of his hand on my knee felt like a thousand pounds, and his face so close to mine were all I could focus on. He just gazed at me, that same amusement still decorating his expression.

            Oh gods, he thinks I want to _kiss_ him. I mean, I think I sort of, maybe, kind of, wanted to. Deep down. But, who wouldn’t want to kiss Jack?! I mean, this wasn’t anything serious. He was super attractive and had so much charisma, I was practically drowning in it currently. Fuck, I wish he would just break this silence. Because I can’t move a fucking centimeter. I was glued to the chair. Super glued. Cemented.

            And, as if reading my mind, he finally decided to stop tormenting me, and broke the silence, “That swelling should go down by noon. You can take the bandage off then.” I found myself capable of nodding, yet still mute. He grinned at my, no doubt, embarrassed expression. He was eating this up. The fucker.

            He still made no move to get up, and squeezed my knee to illustrate this further. His other arm was resting on the seat of the chair, right up against my thigh, essentially caging me in. It was like he was playing with me on purpose… Well of course he was, this is Jack we’re talking about.

            “So, are you ever gonna let me know why you didn’t pick up my call, or am I gonna hafta shake it outta you?” He spoke lightly, I knew he’d never hurt me on purpose.

            I brought a hand up and scrubbed my mouth, the telltale that I was anxious and stressed. His expression was patient, and waited with surprising amounts of said patience.

            Folding my hands in my lap, I looked up at him, “My mum called me.” He waited for me to elaborate. I sighed, “I haven’t spoken to my mum since the day I left Eden-5. We didn’t have a healthy relationship. When I saw her calling, I turned my ringer off and ignored my phone.” I shrugged.

            “What about your dad?” He didn’t even question my method of ignoring my mum. Jack wasn’t one to judge on family matters, I began to realize. So, it was easy enough to tell him what I was going to next. If anything, Jack understood better than anyone.

            “He’s dead.” I said evenly, not breaking eye-contact. He nodded, taking what I said in stride. Not even bothering with the annoying habit people seemed to have, by offering condolences long past, and apologies for nothing. He just nodded his head. Yeah, Jack understood better than most.

            “Got any siblings?” Jack asked, not trying to be nosy, I could tell. Just curious.

            “A brother. We’re close. He’s the only family I’m in contact with. After dad died when I was eight, we didn’t really keep in touch with his side of the family. Plus, the drama with my mum has made me steer clear of her side of the family.” I shook my head. “They took her side in the argument.”

            His eyebrow rose, “Argument?”

            I nodded in confirmation, and began to elucidate, “She didn’t want me to leave Eden-5. She wanted me to become a botanist like her. Take over the family business. That wasn’t me, though. I liked plants. I even inherited her green thumb, as much as my brother did. But, I was in love with bots. Back home I was even a bot fighter in my teenage years. I won a lot of contests.” I smiled at the memories. “She always complained about how violent the competitions were, and constantly begged me to quit it. I treasured it too much, though. She begged me just as much when I told her I got hired on by Hyperion. I was going to Pandora, and start my life. The life _I_ wanted.”

            Jack squeezed my knee and I flicked my eyes back to his, “I take it she didn’t appreciate that?”

            I let out a bark of laughter, “That’s putting it mildly. When I say, this woman was angry, it puts to shame all the times I’ve seen _you_ angry. She was fuming. It was a good thing I left a letter instead of telling her in person. The only soul I said goodbye to in person was my brother. He supported me the whole way. He’s always been great like that.” I give a half smile in Jack’s direction, looking at the ceiling. I missed my brother. I wished he could come visit me up here on the station. But Eden-5 is clear across this sector of the galaxy. Too far for him to travel just for a visit.

            “You miss him, huh?” Jack murmurs. I put my hand on top of his hand on my knee and give it a squeeze.

            “I sure do.” My voice comes out wavy. I choke back the tears, after bringing up these tough topics. Jack and I were friends, though. He could see me this way, and learn these things about me. I treasured the time and kindness he’d given me this morning. “Thank you, Jack.”

            He affords me a genuine smile, and I feel myself melt at the sight of it.

            “I should get to work. I have a lot to do before those slackers come in to ruin my schedule.” I laugh, and so does he.

            “If they get too annoying, just take ‘em over to an airlock and shove ‘em out. There’s plenty more in the galaxy,” I laugh harder and put a hand on his shoulder to steady myself.

            “You’re horrible, Jackie,” I quip.

            He just smirks at me, “You think I’m kidding, but I’m not.”

            I snort, “Trust me, I know. You’re bloody mad.”

            “You love it,” he eggs me on.

            Rolling my eyes, I stand and say, “You wish.” As I stand he does as well, and returns to being domineeringly taller than me. I need to crane my neck back to look at him this close. “Unlike you, I revel in torturing my underlings with bathroom clean up duties, and belittling them. I guess that’s what makes me such a bitch.”

            He slaps me on the shoulder, “The megalomaniac and the bitch. What a perfect tag team,” he cheers.

            I step towards my desk to type up the outline for today’s progress report so all I must do is fill in the blanks at the end of the day. He follows me and sits on the edge of my desk. As I work we make idle chit chat, and I begin to shrug off the uneasy and confusing feelings I was having earlier. Hashing out familial issues was never fun, but it was nice talking to someone about this. I had other people I could hang out with. I have done as much since Jack and I started talking. Yet, none of them were like Jack. Unsurprisingly, of course. Jack just made everything so much more… fun.

            I found myself analyzing him as discreetly as I could from the corner of my vision as I typed away at my keyboard. He had mixed up his wardrobe for the day. A steel grey suit with a white button up and a Hyperion yellow tie. He also wore a pair of smart, pointed shoes. He must have a business meeting. Suddenly, I noticed him raise his hand towards me, I slightly turned my head towards him as I kept my eyes trained on the screen so I could finish the thought I was typing out. As I turned my gaze to finally see what he was doing, at the same moment he was gently taking a curly lock of my red hair in between his fingers. Some of my hair must have fallen out of my bun. It was so hard to tame the mess of kinky curls.

            He spoke as I felt another blush creeping up the back of my neck to my cheeks, “You have really beautiful hair. I’ve never seen anyone with hair this naturally red,” he pauses to laugh, “or curly.”

            Shrugging, I say, “Thank my mother and her side of the family for that.”

            “Your mom and her family are from Ireland, back on Old Earth, right?” I nod him an affirmation. “Where was your dad from?”

            Shrugging, “If he ever told me when he was alive, I don’t remember, and my mum never spoke about him after he died. My brother was only three when it happened, so he doesn’t even remember what dad looked like. I can barely remember him…”

            “D’ya not have pictures of him?” Jack asks.

 I shake my head no, “Mum didn’t like to talk about him, so there were never any picture albums with him either. All I have is my dwindling memory of a man with dark black hair, and glass green eyes.”

Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise, “I woulda figured you got your eye color from your mom.”

“Nah, mum has amber eyes, same as my brother. Although he got dad’s dark hair. We both share mom’s mess of freckles, though.” I was glad of that. It always made me feel better to have something like that in common with my brother. Laughing, I add, “And her green-thumb, of course.”

Jack nods in understanding, but keeps relatively quiet. I start getting back to my work, Jack still fiddling with the few strands of hair that had wiggled themselves free from my bun. “You have really pretty eyes,” I say, hardly noticing that I’d even said anything. Jack easily heard me, nevertheless. I could feel his eyes on me. Burning a hole in the side of my head.

“Ya think so?” He asks, but then continues, “I mean, _I_ know I do. I was just curious why you thought so?”

Thinking for a moment, I hum in thought, “Hmm, I guess just mainly because of how vibrant they are, ya know? I’ve never met someone with heterochromatic eyes in person, so that’s rad, too.”

He simply chuckles. We continue to chat as I finish with my work. Once, that’s done, he asks if he can see how I put together a Constructor. We had a half an hour before the crew came in, but I guess I could get one done. I led him to my station, and called up the parts from storage. The parts digitize on the delivery platform in the back corner. I climb into a mech suit and begin to pick each part up, and assemble the skeleton. With that done, I hop out and put on some electrical gloves, and begin to stuff the motors into place. Then the wiring was next, the most tedious part, as it always took the most time to do. After that, it was just popping and screwing in random parts. I didn’t fool with putting the armor on it. My underlings could deal with that when they got into work.

It took me around half an hour to do; just a bit under. By then, the crew was starting to arrive for the day. Each one was varying degrees of shocked and horrified to see Jack there. They were scared enough of me and my temper. Jack being there added to their, likely high, amounts of stress. I gave an inauspicious chuckle at the thought. Jack took note, and I think he knew why, since he gave me his signature smirk.

“Coffee break!” Jack declared. Rousing a few looks from around the work place. In a lower voice, he said, “For me, of course. Do want to come with me to get one?”

I smiled at his offer, but declined. “Thanks anyways, mate. I do have quite a bit of work to do. And I dread to think of what this place will become if I make a habit of leaving these muppets unsupervised.”

Jack took the rejection surprisingly well, and simply replied, “Sure, kiddo.” Ah, “ _kiddo”_. We truly were on the clock now. “Alright then, check ya later.” He bids, turning around and giving me a brief wave over his shoulder.

//////////////////////////////////////

//////////////////////////////////////

The rest of the day went by surprisingly fast. I was seriously busy. Apparently, a bunch of assholes on Pandora had destroyed a whole mess of Constructors in a firefight. I assumed they were all basically dead, since no one could have done that much damage and still be alive afterwards. These were Constructors after all. Aside from that, though, I knew very little about the mini-Civil War going on down there. I was always too busy or to uninterested for current affairs. I worked for Hyperion. A corporation that was in the shitty opinion of millions. Obviously, I could guess what was happening. I didn’t care; that was that.

I hadn’t had time to eat lunch and it was well past dinner since I hadn’t even had time for that. So much to do. Just because of that one day of slacking with Jack. Christ, my blooming schedule. My hunger wasn’t even noticeable until I was locking up the workshop. I figured I’d just run by that Chinese place and get some takeout. Broccoli chicken and rice sounded good.

“And egg rolls…” I was practically drooling at this point. I started singing a little song in the dark hallway to the elevator to keep myself company.

I’m still humming it all the way to the Chinese place; no one was in the food district this time of the evening. No one important, anyway. Just a few drunk people, or people too knackered to care about a short, chubby Irish girl singing to herself. It wasn’t like I was being noisy. I get to the Chinese place, and I ordered my food. As I waited my phone began to glow in my pocket. I hadn’t turned my ringer back on. Luckily, I had no missed calls, so I was quick enough to catch this one. It was Jack, of course.

I sat at a booth in the corner and answered, “Hey.”

“Hey, babe. What’re you up to?” Jack responded.

“Ehm, I was just gettin’ a bite.” I leaned my head back and waited for his answer. Suddenly feeling tired. I wanted to get back to my flat and eat. Then try to get some sleep. Although I’d probably get an hour and wake up from a nightmare and never get settled down again. I was so tired…

“Ooh, what’re ya havin’?” He seemed genuinely interested.

“Just some Chinese. Why? You wanna come over and share?” I was tired, but maybe hanging out with Jack could really tire me out and I’d be too exhausted to have dreams. Fingers crossed.

“Eh, sure, why not. Haven’t eaten since lunch. I’ll be at your place in five minutes.”

What?! Oh no, I looked awful after today. I didn’t want Jack to see me like this! I was going to take a shower before he got there and at least change my clothes!

As I was worrying about this, Jack had hung up before I could even respond, let alone say good bye. “Fuck me…” I swore.

“Order #49!” The employee called out. I wrenched my worthless carcass from the booth and gathered my—I mean our—food and exited the place. I tried to hurry, I really did. I thought maybe I could just get home, grab some clothes and get into the bathroom. I could leave the door unlocked and Jack could just make himself at home while cleaned up. Yet, no such luck. He had beat me.

“Took ya long enough, princess!” He called over to me. As I exited the elevator I found him leaning against the wall next to my door. Looking very put together, as usual. Not a hair on his head was out of place, and even in his comfy clothes, he looked polished. Jack wore a pair of fitted jeans, his chocolate oxfords, and a simple grey sweater. It looked soft. He was also wearing his glasses, which made him look much more approachable. It probably helped that he was affording me another one of his award-winning smiles.

Whereas I’m sure I looked tired and dirty. “Nice to see you, Jack. As you can see I’m still a mess from work.” I could feel my mane of red poofed up unattractively. It had long since sprung free from the confines of its hair tie. They never did have a long life. With hair, as wild and springy as mine, they could never hold for long. My face was probably no better. Pale and worn-out, with large purple bags under my eyes. I could see it now.

“Aw, don’t be ridiculous. You’ve never looked better,” he teased. Not harshly; I knew he was only kidding.

“Oh, what and you’re so perfect?” I scoff.

He just grins in response.

I mocked, “Something something hero stuff. Something something I’m attractive.” I lowered my voice and made it scratchier to imitate his voice, and spoke in a condescending tone.

“So, you think I’m attractive, do you?” Jack cracks a shit-eating sneer.

“You’re so full of yourself,” I groan and put a hand to my cheek.

He scratches his chin, and raises a brow, “And a hero, you say?”

I shove him, “Oh, fuck off, will you? Why am I friends with you again?”

“I’m pretty sure you just told me why yourself. I’m handsome, and a hero. Those are great qualities in a friend. Honestly, you should feel honored.”

“I feel cursed.”

            “You have quite the potty mouth, my friend,” he chuckles.

            “Fuck off.”

He just laughs again, and I make my way to open my door. After that I usher him in and we continue to banter back and forth. Instead of showering I simply wash my face and comb my hair so it looks better. I change into some dark grey leggings, and a black Adidas hoodie. I even put on a pair of soft, fluffy socks to keep my feet warm. I go into the kitchen and plate the food for him and I and walk over to my tiny kitchen table. It was nothing like the large one at Jack’s place. It could seat twelve people comfortably. Mine could barely fit the both of us.

“Sorry for my meager hobbit hole,” I chuckled nervously. He probably hated coming over here.

He waved me off with his hand, “Please, I didn’t start out rich. I’m used to this. When I was first starting out I had a tinier place than this.”

Well… that was surprising. It made me feel a lot better, too. “Oh, wow. Is that really true?”

He nodded his head, since he was chewing. I smiled and dug into my own plate. I was smiling all throughout the silent dinner. Jack finished his first, wolfing down his faster than me. And I thought I was hungry. Geez. Yet, he waited patiently and asked me some questions here and there. Never about work, though. Which I appreciated. He really knew how to separate work and play. It was rather refreshing.

After I finished eating, Jack helped me with the dishes. He was on drying duty, and I was on washing duty. I decided to tease him as he was drying the last plate. With two hands, I scooped up some of the suds, and smacked either side of his face. It gave him a weird, patchy bubble beard. I was laughing so hard, I had to lean against the counter. When he turned around, he was smiling, sure, but it wasn’t a good one. He was irritated, but seeing me laughing so hard I was crying must have put him in a forgiving mood.

Not, too, forgiving, however. He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. Bubble beard slowly fizzing away, revealing a sinister smile beneath. He walked over to the couch and sat down, slinging me over his knees. “I’m gonna spank you, heathen.”

I was still laughing so hard, I could barely breath, let alone answer him, “DO NOT!” I screamed through my giggling.

“I _so_ am,” he growled.

“Sexual harassment!” I wailed.

“As if you would ever claim that,” he called my bluff.

“Jack I swear, I’ll bloody murder you!”

“Ugh, fine, I guess I’m just gonna have to punish you differently.” He says in thought. “Oh! I know what worked last time!” He started to relentlessly tickle me.

“No! Not again!” I was crying for real this time. My throat started to hurt from how much I’d been laughing. “Uncle! UNCLE!!” I shriek.

Finally, he shows mercy and stays his hands on my side. I try to catch my breath. Laying my head back on the seat cushion. I’d turned around in his lap at some point, so my back was laying on his thighs. “Jesus— _pant_ —fucking— _pant_ —Christ,” I could feel my heart beat hammering in my chest and the stickiness of my drying tears on my cheeks as I caught my breath. “You’re such a— _pant_ —cunt.”

Jack looks down at me, smirking and doesn’t say anything to defend himself. “There’s that potty mouth again, cupcake.” He reaches for the remote control on the couch, and flips on the TV.

I lay there on his lap for a while and just catch my breath. I was starting to feel really drained now. I let out a long yawn and sat up and moved to sit beside Jack. I don’t know what we were watching. Something with a bunch explosions. I think it was one of those stupid Fast and Furious movies. Leaning against Jack, I put my head on his shoulder and hug his arm. I pet his sweater, “This is soft,” I hum, and then yawn again. We keep watching the movie like that. Neither of us talking much, except to comment on how dumb the movie was. Jack liked the car chases and the gun fights, though. Unsurprising.

At some point, I’d fallen asleep on him, and he woke me up when he pulled his arm from my hug. “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you, but it is getting late. Tomorrow is your free day, right?”

I blink sleepily, and yawn again. I think for a minute, trying to make my brain work. “Uh, yeah. It is. Why?”

“Wanna grab a drink with me tomorrow evening?”

I think for a moment, “Yeah, sure. What time?”

We hash out details, and decide we would meet up at the club, and have a few drinks. With that, I walked him to the door, and we bid each other a good night. After that I fell into a dreamless sleep. It was the best I’d had in a week.

…

…

…

That was until I woke to the blaring sound of my alarm. I slapped my hand against the retro analog clock. “Shut up…” I slur drowsily.

I keep slapping it, but it won’t quit beeping. I sit up quickly, smacking my hands on the bed. “Ugh!!” As I open my eyes, it takes me a few moments to fully comprehend what’s happening. I turn my head and face the clock. That was when I realized three things in quick succession: firstly, my alarm was not going off; secondly, it was three in the morning; and thirdly, from the hallway, I could hear muffled, and panicked voices accompanied by an alarm.

Something was happening.

I leap from my bed as quickly as I could. I don’t bother with changing my clothes, and simply wear the dark grey leggings and black hoodie I had slept in. After slipping some sneakers on at the door, I grab my phone. No calls or messages. Whatever was happening, Jack was probably involved. The fact that he hadn’t called me, worried me greatly.

Along with my phone, I also grabbed the small Hyperion pistol taped to the bottom of my bed. I loaded it and threw some spare ammo into a back pack. Along with some emergency provisions, a handful of pictures that were important to me, my wallet, spare clothes, and a medical kit. I had no idea what to expect out there, and if I knew Hyperion, there would be nothing on the news about this. Whatever was happening, was being kept under wraps from the galaxy. It was my job as an employee of this company to make sure I was safe and in control, and then to help my fellow co-workers with damage control.

With all my shit sorted, I walk purposefully towards my door, before stopping and taking a deep breath. My hand hovers over the touch pad, waiting for my password to open the door. “Here we go,” I breathe.

It was empty in the hallway now, as I seemed to be the last one to wake up on my floor. The alarm was still blaring loudly, and the reddish orange of the emergency lights were blinding at first. I jog to the elevator, and find it isn’t working. With that, I walk towards the stairwell, and make my ascent to Jack’s office. That was the best idea I could think of. I was worried about him, and he probably needed help. I was a damn good engineer and programmer. Not too shabby with a gun, either. Not the best, I probably wouldn’t win if it ever came to a physical fight. Yet, I was damn sure I wouldn’t go down without one.

I hold my gun in the way I’d been trained. Finger off the trigger, both hands grasping the hilt of the gun firmly, but not too hard. I jog up the stairs with purpose with my eyes peeled for movement and my ears alert for any noises. Suddenly, a door at the landing of one of the floors bursts open. It’s a malfunctioning loader bot. It sets its red sensor on me, and starts screaming at me about trespassing. I run back down the stairs I’d just come from and wait for it at the next landing.

A few moments pass with nothing but the sound of loud, metal footsteps approaching the top of the stairs in front of me. As soon as it rounds the corner, I aim my gun up with the red sensor on its face and fire. It wails an electronic cry, and gets knocked back a bit. I line up another shot and fire again. It goes down in a show of sparks and smoke. I sigh, and catch my breath, before continuing my ascent, making sure to give the ‘dead’ loader bot a big berth of space.

As I open the door to Jack’s office floor, I hear yelling. It’s weird but I think I’ve heard this voice before. It sounds like it belongs to a male. Then, clear as a bell I hear Jack’s voice. “You dickholes can try all you want, but you’ll never find me. You think I’d stay on this godforsaken space station with you dipshits?” I rolled my eyes, if whoever was talking to him seriously believed that they’d have to be the stupi-

“Oh, yeah!?” The same gruff voice who had first spoken to Jack answered, “Well, wherever you are, we’ll find you!”

“Oi, what a bleedin’ muppet…” I whisper to myself in disbelief.

I knew where Jack was. I and the other division leaders did. I was trying to get to him currently, but I had to wait for whoever was talking to him to leave. Luckily, that was easy enough to do since there was a hidden door in the wall that lead to a closet I could hide in. Ah, minimalist decorating. I waited to hear approaching footsteps leaving the office’s main room, and slid inside the hidden room. After I hear silence for about five minutes, I slip out and head towards the main room.

Once there, I pull up an application on Jack’s computer, and type in the password. A hissing sound can be heard, and Jack’s desk slides backwards, revealing a hidden staircase. I walk down them, and the hissing can be heard again as the entrance seals. I’m momentarily blind as I wait for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. As soon as they do, I make my way down the maze of hallways, towards where the other leaders and I were to meet.

Finally, after following the GPS on my phone, I make it. There is no one there. Where was everyone?! I couldn’t possibly be the first one here! I’m quiet for a moment as I think. I stand still, in the center of the room, and get my bearings. I had only been here once before, so I didn’t remember much.

The room was rather large, with a high sealing. It was very under furnished, and only had a few chairs in the corner. The rest of the room was filled with computer terminals, the master controls for Helios, and a large table top hologram of the facility that could be manipulated to see different floors and rooms. With that, I get an idea. It was unlikely to work, but I could try.

I strode over to the table, and zoomed into where I assumed the intruders would be. As I searched, I found the facility to be in complete chaos. Most of the employees had abandoned their station to escape down to the safe houses on Elpis. “Bloody cowards,” I swore.

After searching for what had to of been an hour, I found neither hide nor tail of Jack, or the intruders. That’s when I got the brilliant idea to just call him. Walking over to the corner of the room where the seats were, I sat down and belled Jack.

_Ring… Ring… Ring… Ring… Ring… Ka-chnk—_

_“Maeve?!”_

 “Jack! Where the hell are you? I’m at the safe place waiting for you. It seems the other division leaders skipped out to the safe houses on Elpis. Shit, Jack! What’s going on?! I’m so confused. Are you oka-?”

 _“Sh, sh, Maeve. Listen to me. Stay where you are. I’m coming to you now. I’m just in my office.”_ I breathe a sigh of relief to hear this. He continues after a pause, _“Sigh… Look, the situation isn’t very easy to explain. For brevity’s sake, we’re being boarded by some pirates. Space pirates.”_ I hear him deadpan at the other end. Even at a moment like this, he’s such a fucking child.

“Okay?! And?” I prompt him to continue, “Why the bloody hell for?”

He snorts, _“Because they’re space pirates, duh.”_

I groan, “Of course they are. Fuck me.”

 _“Look, kiddo, there isn’t much time for me to talk right now. I’ll see you soon.”_ With that he hung up on me.

“Shit, shit, shit.” I lock my phone’s screen and put it in my hoodie’s pouch pocket. With a shaking hand, I scrub it over my mouth and give an exasperated sigh. Putting down my back pack on a chair, I decide to make use of myself. With the master controls of Helios, I begin locking down the facility. I could at least make the pirates’ lives harder.

I was in the middle of doing just that, when I finally hear hurried footsteps coming from the hallway I’d entered the safe room from. I turn around just in time to see Jack slow to a stop at the entrance. Without much thought, I run up to him and slam him with a big hug. He makes no move to reciprocate at first, but finally I feel him tightly return the hug. He smooths my hair and squeezes me to himself.

I pull back slightly, and look up to him, “Are you okay??”

He nods, expression dangerous, “Just fine. Look, we have work to do, and I need to fill you in. Will you help me?”

I smile warmly, and study his eyes, “What else are friends for? I’m here.”

He returns my soft expression, and Jack begins to fill me in on how grave the situation truly is. Apparently, those space pirates were trying to find Angel. From what I knew of her, she was Jack’s daughter, and a siren. I had never met her, and only knew what she looked like as a child from the picture on Jack’s desk. Whatever reason they had for finding her, couldn’t be good. I knew that this was personal for Jack on a deeply intimate level, so for him to be so bluntly honest about everything, made me feel like we were as close as I felt.

The game plan was simple: corner the pirates, somehow, and take them out. “But how?” Jack mused aloud.

“Constructor.” I say confidently.

He looks up at me and stares, “What?”

“It’s simple, Jack. After we corner them, we order up a Constructor, and then unleash hellfire upon them. Make it start pumping out WAR-loader after WAR-loader. They won’t stand a chance.”

Jack nods, “It just might work. Oh, what am I saying, that’s brilliant!” He calms down, and falls back, deep into thought. “Although we have a small problem. Everyone is gone, so we gotta manually call up a constructor. All those worthless piles of meat abandoned ship.”

I nod, and think about what he’s said. More about the fact that I’d have to figure out where exactly the console was for calling a Constructor. I made them, I didn’t use them. “Okay, I’m not the best shot with a gun, so you’re gonna have to help me, Jack.”

He stares at me for a second and then it dawns on him what I mean, “No. I know what you’re thinking, and absolutely not.”

Crossing my arms over my chest and setting my weight on one foot, I look at him with an exasperated expression, “Are you kidding me? I’m an employee of Hyperion, and this is my job. Even if practically everyone but the Med-bay has abandoned ship, I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’re not just my employee!” Jack stood as he yelled this, looming over me with a half worried, half pissed expression.

I sigh and scrub my hand over my mouth, “Jackie. Remember we promised to keep this professional on the clock?”

He shakes his head, clearly not having it, “Babe, you aren’t on the clock. This is happening while you’re off the clock, so right now you are my friend. And even if you _were_ on the clock, you’re still my friend at the end of the day. I’m not letting you go out there where you can get killed.”

“Jack, are you not listening, you’re coming with me! If you’re so worried, then just keep me safe. I thought you were the Hero! Or is this too big of a challenge?!” I knew that was a low-blow playing to his egotistical side, but I had no choice. We were going to be overrun by—ugh— _space pirates_.

His eyes are smoldering in the dim light of the safe room. With his large hands, he grips my shoulders and shakes me lightly, “I _am_ the Hero. I’ll keep you safe, dammit.” After a few breaths, he squeezes my shoulders tighter, “What’s the plan, boss.”

I’m reeling at him calling me _boss_ ; finally, I ask, “Excuse me?” My voice comes out tiny and bewildered.

“I’m your body-guard until this fiasco is over. I’m putting you in charge. My only job is to follow _your_ explicit orders and keep you safe. Got it— _I mean_ —Okay, boss?!”

I look at the floor and reach my hands up to grip his wrists, as his hands are still holding me by the shoulders. I minute passes in total silence. Nothing but computers beeping, and the distant sound of the alarm can be heard aside from our quiet breathing. I can feel him looking at my face, watching the expressions change on my face as I think carefully about what he’s said, and what to do next.

“Alright, Jack,” I have purpose in my voice, and grip his wrists harder, “this is what we’re gonna do.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is just something that kept going and going as I wrote. I know I have another fic going right now, but I have so much inspiration for this one. Like, dude, don't cockblock me and Lady Inspiration; she's a shrewd lover and doesn't come around often. Let me live my life, yo. So here's a Handsome Jack/Reader that no one asked for and no one probably wants besides me. Oh well. I also threw in some shit that isn't cannon. Like, the whole thing about Atlas fucking up Earth or w/e. Like, iunno if that shit's cannon. Prolly not, my dude, but oh well. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Leave a kudos and comment something. Show me some love. (I'm so lonely.) ((Jk, I'm not that desperate, losers.)) (((Yes, I am.)))


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